Breakfast was delicious, TJ hadn’t been exaggerating. It was better than anything Beth had ever had. She’d had Eggs Benedict, which she’d heard about on fancy cooking shows but never tasted, and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.
When they landed, a limo waited for them on the tarmac. Beth hadn’t been to New York, and after navigating through traffic, she wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to come back.
They got out in front of a hotel, and TJ led them into the opulent lobby. Beth looked up at the vaulted ceilings and lavish gold decor and almost laughed.
“I feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman,” Carrie whispered.
Beth could only nod.
A group of employees swarmed them, and TJ barked orders, commanding their respect. Beth secretly grinned as she watched. This was a man used to getting his way. It must’ve killed him when she turned him down. She still hadn’t made up her mind. Sure, she’d done drug trials, but her friend Trev said he’d made sure that she was in the placebo group so that she wouldn’t actually have any side effects. She had no guarantees here. None. This wasn’t popping a sugar pill.
They rode the elevator to the top floor and it opened into a penthouse suite. There was a sunken living room with white couches, cream carpets, and the biggest TV Beth had ever seen. Next to that was a full kitchen, done in white cabinets and stainless steel appliances. There was a half bath beside it, as well as a hallway with bedrooms.
“This is where we’ll be staying for the foreseeable future.” TJ walked into the kitchen as if he owned the place. “There are four bedrooms and each has been set up with a pair of sleep pods. We’ll grab a late lunch, maybe see a show, and then I’d like to get to work.”
And they did just that. After the showing of Shrek, The Musical, TJ cornered her in the hallway of the penthouse. “I know you’re still uncomfortable, so we’d like to do the same type of study that we did last night. Nothing invasive. Just the electrodes. If you’re okay with it, we’d actually like to do more electrodes, which will give you a more immersive experience.”
“How many more?” Beth swallowed. Maybe if she watched him long enough, he’d offer her more money.
TJ shrugged. “A few in various places of your body.”
Beth sighed.
TJ’s jaw twitched. “I’ll throw in an extra thousand dollars.”
“Fine.”
On the bed of the master suite, which TJ had given to Beth and Carrie, there were several white form-fitting outfits—the word outfit was a bit of a stretch.
“Guess we’re supposed to wear these?”
“Guess so.”
“Those are sleep suits,” a woman with gray hair and a white lab coat informed them. “Let us know when you’re ready and we’ll get you set up.” She closed the door, leaving Beth and Carrie alone.
Beth picked up the sports bra and boy shorts, then slipped into the bathroom to put them on.
When they were ready, a team of … people? Beth didn’t know if they were scientists, game developers, doctors, or what. But they swarmed the pair, putting them into the pods and getting them ready for the night.
TJ handed Beth a pill. “This will help you fall asleep faster.”
Beth took it and swallowed it dry. “Wonderful.”
She noticed TJ was wearing his own version of the sleep suit. “Are you doing it too?”
He shrugged. “I figure I may as well.”
She nodded, feeling a little better that at least he was willing to subject himself to the things he was putting her through.
“Great. Maybe I’ll see you in there.”
He smiled and left the room.
Carrie giggled and mimicked Beth’s voice, saying, “Maybe I’ll see you in there.”
Beth pushed her new friend’s shoulder. “Shut up.”
“Okay, ladies. Let’s get you all set up and in your pods,” the woman said.
As they were getting into their pods, Beth said, “Wait! Carrie, meet me at the trader. We should team up!”
Carrie shot beth a thumbs up. “See ya there!”
A few minutes later, after Beth drifted to sleep, she found herself slumped against Maverick in the second-story corner of their base. She glanced at the clock. Day 2: Time: 05:00 hours.
Maverick stirred, and Beth got to her feet.
“This is odd,” Maverick said.
“What?”
He furrowed his brow. “Usually when you plan online, the game continues once you’re offline, but it almost feels like the game just paused and popped us into the next day.”
Beth had no idea what the implications were to that statement. “Okay.”
“It’s just strange is all. What happens if you wake up in the middle of the night or while you’re being attacked? Does the game just stop? Do the zombies just pause?”
“I dunno. We can ask TJ when we see him again.”
“That’s the other thing,” Maverick said. “Be careful. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t trust the guy.”
Beth didn’t either. She bit her lip and nodded. “I will. Thanks.”
“Shall we get to work?”
Beth shook her head. “I told Carrie to meet me at the trader and we’d team up.”
“Fabulous. Let’s go. Maybe we can do a couple of clear quests while we’re at it.” Maverick climbed to his feet and wielded his shotgun.
“Shit. I forgot, my bat broke last night.”
He hefted a wooden club from his bag and handed it to Beth. “Use this until you find better. I prefer to save my ammo for horde night, which TJ told me was every ten days.”
Beth took the club from him.
Level 1 Wooden Club
Damage: 18-30
Durability: 91%
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Enhancement Slot: (Empty)
Enhancement Slot: (Empty)
“Thanks.”
They exited the base and walked a few feet apart toward the town. “So how do games like this work?”
“Well, ideally, you want to create a base that you can easily defend. With games like this, usually as we get further into the game, the zombies are going to get harder and higher level. They’ll get smarter, too.”
A chill prickled Beth’s arms. “That sounds ominous.”
“If you do it right, it’s absolutely beatable, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, one small error can be the end of it. I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you. If you’re perfectly compatible, like they said, you’ll probably run through the first few stages of the game over and over as they try to figure out what makes you different. In a few weeks, you’ll probably have the beginning memorized. A shambling horde won’t even phase you.”
Beth laughed. “I doubt that.”
“There are a few stages of the game. Base building and defense is key to beating it. There are some players who find a building they can defend, and build around that. But I prefer to start from scratch. In my opinion, it’s better in the long run. Sure, you can fend off the first few horde nights fairly quickly, but the later stages of the game require a well thought-out layout and a know-how to beat the game.”
“Can this game be beat? Or does it just keep going?” Beth stepped over a bovine skull, a buffalo, bull or the like.
Maverick pointed to the animal remains. “If you use your club on that, you’ll get bone. That can be used to make glue.”
“Oh.” Beth stopped and hit it a couple times, then noticed a small stack of 2 bones in her inventory. “Thanks.”
“Yup. Pretty much everything can be used.”
You are hungry.
Beth’s stomach growled as the notification faded from view. She grabbed a can of food. “So, how does one eat this?”
Maverick pulled a pocket knife from his waistband and stabbed it into the lid with a loud screeching sound. He cut the can open and handed it to her. “Bon appétit.”
Beth took the can from him and tipped the cold stew into her mouth. Luckily, she couldn’t taste anything or she was sure she’d gag on it. “Thanks.”
They stepped over the threshold to the city and the light music changed to a lower tone. Beth tossed the can onto the lawn, feeling slightly guilty about littering until she reminded herself this was just a game. She wasn’t really littering. It was fine.
“Let’s get to the trader, meet up with your friend, then we’ll do a couple of ‘clear’ errands.”
On the walk to the trader, Beth opened every mail box they passed, but only found a couple of letters. After opening the next mailbox, she gasped. “I found something!”
Bicycle Schematic
“What is it?”
“A bicycle schematic.” Beth held it out to him.
“Do you see a book icon on the left side?”
Beth looked, and indeed did see a book icon. “Yep.”
“If it’s open, it means you’ve read it. If it’s closed, it means you need to read it. Usually they sell to the trader for a good amount, so if you ever come across one you’ve already read, save it and sell it to the trader.”
“So …” Beth raised an eyebrow. “I should read it?”
“Yes.”
She did.
Bicycle Schematic
1 Frame
2 Tires
1 Bike Seat
1 Handlebars
It seemed to Beth that this was definitely not all that one would need in real life to build a bike, but who was she to fault the programming? If all she needed were two tires, a frame, a seat, and handlebars to build it, she’d be in good shape.
“What’s the advantage of having a bike over walking?”
“Takes less stamina and you can outrun most low-level zombies.”
The music shifted to a more dramatic tone and a zombie moaned behind them, and Maverick spun around and shot it in the head.
“So does the sound of the shotgun bring more?”
The music changed back to lighthearted.
He shrugged and reloaded. “It can.”
Beth pursed her lips. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and she definitely needed Maverick, even if he was stupid enough to shoot a zombie in the head when it could easily draw more to them.
They rounded a corner and made it to the trader without running into any more zombies. Beth opened the door and made sure to close it behind them, then she climbed the stairs to the trader’s shop.
She was disappointed for a few minutes that Carrie wasn’t already there waiting. She glanced at the clock, it had only taken them forty minutes to get to the trader, but maybe Carrie was farther away.
“Hi,” Beth said to the trader.
Would you like to buy and sell?
Go on an errand?
Never mind.
She said, “Go on an errand.”
Tier 1
Fetch
.3 miles West
Tier 1
Clear
1.2 mile South
Tier 1
Clear
.25 miles East
Their base was west of the trader, so heading east, back toward their base, seemed like the most logical thing to do.
“What do you think about doing the Tier one clear that’s .25 miles East?” she asked Maverick.
“Sounds perfect. Good thinking.”
After waiting another hour and a half, Beth finally looked at Maverick. “I don’t think Carrie is coming.”
“Did she select advanced difficulty?”
Beth frowned. “I didn’t ask.”
“This is the advanced map. If she didn’t select advanced, she’s probably in a different server.”
“In English, please?”
“There are different servers that house the different difficulties. This is the advanced server. Warren and Joseph are in the intermediate server. So unless Carrie selected advanced, she’s not going to be in our server.”
“Oh.”
They left the trader and walked toward the yellow flashing arrow east of them. They encountered one zombie on the way, and Beth clubbed it to death with her borrowed weapon.
“Do you have another club or something, so we don’t draw the whole neighborhood?” she asked, eyeing his gun.
He grunted, but switched his shotgun for a club identical to Beth’s.
As they drew closer to the errand location, or EL as Maverick called it, Beth tightened her grip on her weapon. “Why am I so nervous?”
Maverick looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t know, why are you?”
“It’s just a game.” She said it more for herself than for him, but he nodded his encouragement.
“You’ll do awesome.” Maverick stepped on the yellow pad on the ground and it disappeared. “I’ll go around back, you start up front, and we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”
“Sounds good.” Beth walked toward the porch as Maverick disappeared around the side of the house. She stepped up onto the rickety wooden steps and they creaked, announcing her presence.
Zombies moaned from somewhere inside. The blue paint on the exterior of the house was peeling, and the windows had been boarded up. A bloody handprint was smeared down the white front door, and Beth wrinkled her nose. It was all so realistic.
She tried the handle, but it was locked. How the hell had the zombies gotten inside if it was locked? Beth stepped off the house and looked up at the windows above the porch roof. One was open. Ah ha. She put her club back into the inventory slot at the bottom of her screen, then climbed a metal trellis up to the porch roof. Sections of the roof were rotting and weather damaged, and Beth carefully picked her way around them to avoid falling through.
When she got to the window, she pulled aside the white lacy curtains and peered inside. There was a tiny crib with a mobile hanging above it, which spun in a slow circle playing a familiar nursery rhyme. Creepy.
Movement inside the crib caught her eye, and her stomach dropped. They wouldn’t make a baby a zombie right? Every sane person knew that babies and kids were off limits. She quietly climbed through the already open window and walked to the crib.
A baby zombie lay inside. It flipped to its stomach and crawled to the rail, then pulled itself into a standing position. Beth equipped her club, but hesitated to kill it. After all, it was stuck inside the crib. The baby crouched and its tiny fingers picked at something on the mattress, and Beth drew closer to see what it was grabbing at.
A maggot wriggled across the sheet, and the baby plucked it from the mattress and placed it in its mouth. Beth stumbled back, her stomach roiling. Then, without warning, the baby sprung from the crib and landed right on Beth’s opulent chest.
She screamed and batted the baby away. It hit the ground with a thud, then climbed to its feet. In another room, Beth could hear more zombies and something thudded against the door.
“Shit.”
She lined up her shot and swung the club, nailing the baby’s head and obliterating its skull. If this were real life, she’d probably throw up right now. The experience faded at the bottom of the screen just as the door collapsed inward and three zombies tumbled ass-over-teakettle into the room.